The Fab Four at their liveliest best
The Beatles: Live At The Hollywood Bowl (Apple) Verdict: Mop-tops in their prime
THE first thing you hear is the screaming, described by the late George Martin as ‘the eternal shriek of 17,000 healthy, young lungs’.
It doesn’t let up, drifting in and out as The Beatles rattle through 17 songs in less than 45 minutes.
Those shows, in 1964 and 1965, were so chaotic the group couldn’t hear themselves on stage. Beatles producer Martin eventually salvaged enough material for an album on which the group was all but drowned out by the noise of their hysterical fans. That record, issued on vinyl in 1977, was deleted decades ago.
Now, thanks to some digital tweaks, the original tapes (alongside four unreleased songs) have been spruced up by Sir George’s producer son Giles to generate greater clarity without losing any of the raw excitement.
Out today on CD and digital formats (with a vinyl release on November 18), Live At The Hollywood Bowl paves the way for Ron Howard’s excellent documentary Eight Days A Week, which opens next Thursday and freeze-frames the mop-tops at the height of Beatlemania.
What is apparent, through all the screams on these recordings, is what a formidable, road-hardened outfit they were. The arrangements are tight and inventive, with many songs played faster than in the studio.
Despite ragged edges, Can’t Buy Me Love, All My Loving and She Loves You are superb, and they reiterate their rock’n’roll credentials with a barrage of high-octane covers — Larry Williams’s Dizzy Miss Lizzy (sung by John), Little Richard’s Long Tall Sally (Paul), Chuck Berry’s Roll Over Beethoven (George) and The Shirelles’ Boys (Ringo).
What stands out, though, is the way The Beatles still excite 50 years after they last played a proper gig.
ADRIAN THRILLS